WEBVTT PHILADELPHIATHAT KILLED 8 PEOPLEAND INJURED ABOUT 200 OTHERS.11-NEWS DEBORAH WEINER IS IN THESTUDIO WITH DETAILS.DEB?DEBORAH PROSECUTORS SAY THEY: WILL NOT CHARGE ENGINEERBRANDON BOSTIAN.BECAUSE THEY CAN'T PROVE HEACTED WITH WHAT IS CALLED,CONSCIOUS DISREGARD.THE TRAIN DERAILED ALMOST TWOYEARS AGO, ON MAY 12, 2015 WHENIT ACCELERATED TO 106 MILES ANHOUR ON A 50 MILE AN HOUR CURVE.FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS SAYBOSTIAN LOST TRACK OF THELOCATION AFTER LEARNING A NEARBYCOMMUTER TRAIN HAD BEEN STRUCKWITH A ROCK.BOSTIAN SAYS HIS TRAIN WAS ALSOSTRUCK, LEAVING HIM UNCONSCIOUSBUT FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS SAYTHAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.THEY FOUND NO EVIDENCE HE WASUNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS ORALCOHOL OR DISTRACTED BY A CELLPHONE.AMONG THE EIGHT PEOPLE KILLED INTHE CRASH, TOO HAD TIES TOMARYLAND.JUSTIN ZEMSER WAS A MIDSHIPMANAT THE NAVAL ACADEMY.BOB GILDERSLEEVE, JUNIOR LIVEDIN ELKRIDGE.AMTRAK TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FORTHE CRASH AND AGREED TO PAY 265MILLION DOLLARS TO SETTLERELATED CLAIMS.BUT ATTORNEYS FOR MORE THAN TWODOZEN VICTIMS SAY THEY WERE

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Amtrak engineer won't be charged in deadly crash

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Updated: 6:02 PM EDT May 9, 2017

The speeding Amtrak engineer involved in a derailment that killed eight people and injured about 200 others in Philadelphia won't face criminal charges, the city district attorney's office said Tuesday.
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Prosecutors said they can't prove engineer Brandon Bostian acted with "conscious disregard" when he accelerated the train to 106 mph on a 50 mph curve.
Federal investigators concluded that Bostian lost track of his location, or "situational awareness," before the May 12, 2015, crash after learning that a nearby commuter train had been struck with a rock. They found no evidence he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or distracted by a cellphone.
Lawyers Thomas R. Kline and Robert Mongeluzzi, who represent more than 30 victims and their families, described their clients as bitterly disappointed and said many remain in constant pain two years later.
"There is a longing for accountability when you are disabled and in excruciating pain every day," Mongeluzzi said. "The person who was the primary and sole cause of this escaped punishment and you paid the price."
Kline believes that Bostian should at least face reckless endangerment charges, a misdemeanor, if not the more serious charges that require a finding of intent.
"If he is allowed to escape responsibility, then it is an invitation for every culpable person who operates a vehicle, whether it be a train or a car or a bus or a boat, to say, 'I forgot where I was,'" Kline said.
But the District Attorney's Office concluded there was not enough evidence to prove that Bostian consciously disregarded any risks to his passengers. The train had left Philadelphia minutes before, heading toward New York.
"We cannot conclude that the evidence rises to the high level necessary to charge the engineer or anyone else with a criminal offense," the office said in an unsigned statement.
The current district attorney, Seth Williams, remains in office although his law license has been suspended amid a federal bribery indictment set for trial May 31. A deputy is overseeing legal decisions, the office has said.
Amtrak has taken responsibility for the crash and agreed to pay $265 million to settle related claims.
Bostian has a personal injury suit pending against Amtrak, saying he was left disoriented or unconscious when something struck his train before the crash. His lawyer has rarely commented on the case and did not return a call for comment Tuesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board called Amtrak's long failure to implement automatic speed control throughout the busy Northeast Corridor a contributing factor.
Friends describe Bostian as a conscientious train enthusiast who had worked his way up to his dream job. In the lawsuit, Bostian said the crash left him with physical and psychological injuries that now make it difficult for him to work.
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PHILADELPHIA —

The speeding Amtrak engineer involved in a derailment that killed eight people and injured about 200 others in Philadelphia won't face criminal charges, the city district attorney's office said Tuesday.

Prosecutors said they can't prove engineer Brandon Bostian acted with "conscious disregard" when he accelerated the train to 106 mph on a 50 mph curve.

Federal investigators concluded that Bostian lost track of his location, or "situational awareness," before the May 12, 2015, crash after learning that a nearby commuter train had been struck with a rock. They found no evidence he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or distracted by a cellphone.

Lawyers Thomas R. Kline and Robert Mongeluzzi, who represent more than 30 victims and their families, described their clients as bitterly disappointed and said many remain in constant pain two years later.

"There is a longing for accountability when you are disabled and in excruciating pain every day," Mongeluzzi said. "The person who was the primary and sole cause of this escaped punishment and you paid the price."

Kline believes that Bostian should at least face reckless endangerment charges, a misdemeanor, if not the more serious charges that require a finding of intent.

"If he is allowed to escape responsibility, then it is an invitation for every culpable person who operates a vehicle, whether it be a train or a car or a bus or a boat, to say, 'I forgot where I was,'" Kline said.

But the District Attorney's Office concluded there was not enough evidence to prove that Bostian consciously disregarded any risks to his passengers. The train had left Philadelphia minutes before, heading toward New York.

"We cannot conclude that the evidence rises to the high level necessary to charge the engineer or anyone else with a criminal offense," the office said in an unsigned statement.

The current district attorney, Seth Williams, remains in office although his law license has been suspended amid a federal bribery indictment set for trial May 31. A deputy is overseeing legal decisions, the office has said.

Amtrak has taken responsibility for the crash and agreed to pay $265 million to settle related claims.

Bostian has a personal injury suit pending against Amtrak, saying he was left disoriented or unconscious when something struck his train before the crash. His lawyer has rarely commented on the case and did not return a call for comment Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board called Amtrak's long failure to implement automatic speed control throughout the busy Northeast Corridor a contributing factor.

Friends describe Bostian as a conscientious train enthusiast who had worked his way up to his dream job. In the lawsuit, Bostian said the crash left him with physical and psychological injuries that now make it difficult for him to work.